Log In
Members
Home
Add Reply
Add Topic
What is a safe temperature to bake a Walnut stock to remove the oil? Thanks Bill
November 7, 2015
Offline
Bill-
I’m hesitant to use anything more than direct sunlight and even then I monitor things closely and wipe off the oil as it forms on the surface. I’ve read of milsurp collectors wrapping stocks in plastic bags and placing them in direct sunlight inside a vehicle to remove Cosmoline.
Mike
TXGunNut said
Bill-I’m hesitant to use anything more than direct sunlight and even then I monitor things closely and wipe off the oil as it forms on the surface. I’ve read of milsurp collectors wrapping stocks in plastic bags and placing them in direct sunlight inside a vehicle to remove Cosmoline.
Mike
I’d wrap wood tightly in 2 or 3 layers of paper towels, changing them when they began to look oil-stained, as the treatment will probably take hours to complete. Really depends on how deeply the wood has been saturated. Since the temp in a closed car can reach 150 deg, that temp would be safe, or even 200, I think.
I remember years ago someone tried to cure linseed oil on a forearm in a oven and it was OK until the wife put the Salmon in with it and cranked up the heat.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
November 7, 2015
Offline
clarence said
TXGunNut said
Bill-
I’m hesitant to use anything more than direct sunlight and even then I monitor things closely and wipe off the oil as it forms on the surface. I’ve read of milsurp collectors wrapping stocks in plastic bags and placing them in direct sunlight inside a vehicle to remove Cosmoline.
Mike
I’d wrap wood tightly in 2 or 3 layers of paper towels, changing them when they began to look oil-stained, as the treatment will probably take hours to complete. Really depends on how deeply the wood has been saturated. Since the temp in a closed car can reach 150 deg, that temp would be safe, or even 200, I think.
Thanks, Clarence, neglected to mention it is a slow process. Last time I did it took several hours and even then I stopped before all the oil was gone. I wanted the gun to retain some of the character over a century of honest use had given it. An oven, especially an electric one, will often have brief temperature spikes due to the on/off nature of heating elements and I’m concerned about how that would affect a wood gun stock.
Mike
Online
November 7, 2015
Offline
steve004 said
Flames would be an indication the heat is too high….
We’re hoping to avoid that, I’m thinking once we smell smoke it’s too late. Some days the rail on my back porch is my favorite workbench. If the oil and solvent kill a few weeds I’m OK with that. Nice rustic backdrop for when I pretend to know how to take pics.
Mike
I have seen wood that has been oven baked, not good! The wood shrinks and finish ruined. Wouldn’t it be best not to use the products that cause the problem in the first place? I have sold nice honest guns to collectors only to see them a couple years later with the wood messed up. Original is only original if it has never been messed with! A gun with nice fitting wood sealed to the metal with a little oil staining is better than messed with wood.
Save the shake and bake for shooters and chicken. T/R
I agree w TR. i rebuilt a 1906 25-35, but used vintage parts except buttstock. That was finished to match color of forearm. In the end its a shooter but looks awesome. My more collectibles are shot, cleaned, but never messed with enough to change their appearance.
426crown said
What is a safe temperature to bake a Walnut stock to remove the oil? Thanks Bill
Wood placed in an oven at 700°F. catches fire almost immediately. At oven temperatures of 450°-500°F., the wood gradually chars and usually ignites after several hours. “Pyrophoric carbon,” formed when wood slowly chars, absorbs and combines rapidly with oxygen. The ignition temperature can be different depending on the wood type. What Temperature Does Wood Ignite? — So, wood ignites at temperatures between 390 degrees Fahrenheit and 500 degrees.
From Various Internet Search Results
Looks like you wouldn’t want to go above 350-380. Next time you bake some potatoes, give it a whirl. Personally I wouldn’t bake it to get it off. I’d use some type of chemical stripper. But having never done either, I’d be thrilled to know how yours turns out.
Sincerely,
Maverick
WACA #8783 - Checkout my Reloading Tool Survey!
https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-research-surveys/winchester-reloading-tool-survey/
Maverick said
At oven temperatures of 450°-500°F., the wood gradually chars and usually ignites after several hours.
Which is how charcoal is made, except that it’s done in an airtight chamber to prevent ignition.
November 7, 2015
Offline
clarence said
Maverick said
At oven temperatures of 450°-500°F., the wood gradually chars and usually ignites after several hours.
Which is how charcoal is made, except that it’s done in an airtight chamber to prevent ignition.
Ever read that book by Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451? Again, oven heating elements are generally controlled by what is commonly referred to bang-bang controller. As I understand it that means the controller sends power to a heating element and it heats up until the entire oven reaches the desired temperature. The element, and objects close to it, will reach much higher temps. Put your frozen pizza in the oven, your 100 year old gun stocks deserve a kinder and gentler approach.
Mike
you might just bake the oil into the wood or varnish filler under it, I ve use zip strip with a brush. , followed by paper towel wet with solvent. do outoors, and wipe it down to . the solvents are safer than baking it, it shrinks the wood from heat by taking the moisture content ,out.
It seems I recently saw a video on removing oil stains from stocks. It may have been Larry whats-his-name at MIDWAY or Mark Douglas at WACA. Don
I’m a bit curious why you want to remove the oil? But, if you must, I’d use a solvent like alcohol or lacquer thinner.
Perhaps he wants to remove oil soaked area in the wrist from over-oiling the action. Don
Living at 7150″, I will hang an oily stock on the back porch in the sun, next summer –That should do it Thanks Billl
Bill, Brownell’s sells a product called “Whiting Compound” for pulling oil out of stocks. It’s cheap and pretty easy to use. You mix it with a solvent like acetone until it has the consistency of pancake batter, then spread it on the stock and let it dry. Once dry, you just brush it off. I’ve used it with pretty good luck in the past. Mark
1 Guest(s)
